Textile scheme 'Samarth' to upskill 4 lakh people in 18 states
The textile-related segments for which skill development will be provided towards capacity building include apparel and garmenting, knitting, metal handicraft, textile and handloom, handicraft and carpet, among others.
Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani
Around four lakh people across 18 states will be skilled under 'Samarth', a scheme for capacity building and skilling in the textile sector, as part of agreements signed between the Centre and state governments.
Out of 18 selected states, 16 state governments signed MoUs with the Textile Ministry, led by Union Minister Smriti Irani, and state government representatives in New Delhi on Wednesday.
"The diligence that you [state government representatives] have shown by your mere presence here gives me hope that today we, including the Government of India, have resolved to skill four lakh people, which I think is the first such big step ever in the history of our country," the textile minister said.
The 18 selected states are Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Karnataka, Odisha, Manipur, Haryana, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.
Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha did not attend the MoU signing.
The textile-related segments for which skill development will be provided towards capacity building include apparel and garmenting, knitting, metal handicraft, textile and handloom, handicraft and carpet, among others.
"It has been the endeavour of the prime minister that for a new India we ensure that each and every citizen who seeks resources for sustenance is skilled and it is in this endeavour in the sector of textiles that Samarth took shape," Irani said.
However, she observed that Tamil Nadu, especially the Tirupur cluster, desires more skilling opportunities. The number of beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu is estimated at 1,400, including the textiles and handloom segment.
Highlighting that 75 per cent of those who work in textile sector are women, Irani said the MUDRA scheme has seen that 70 percent of the beneficiaries are women, suggesting the state representatives to look at district-wise tailoring opportunities for women as part of the outreach for skilling across states.
The Samarth scheme targets to train 10 lakh persons over a period of three years (2017-20) with an estimated budget of Rs 1,300 crore.
